We know that we love our huskies, but how do they know? Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as just telling them, so we have to show it, and this article will explain exactly how to do that.
How to bond and show your husky you love them:
- Use body language and start mimicking
- Frequently talk to your husky
- Use easy eye contact and gazing
- Use facial expressions to convey your love
- Plenty of physical contact
- Rest together
- Train him and play with him
Let’s run through each of these and explain how you can actually do it!
Table of Contents
7 Ways To Improve Your Bond With Your Husky
Let’s explain the following ways you can let your husky know that you really do love him.
Bonding and showing love are pretty much the same things, so it’s up to you how you like to think of this process. A strong bond means a lot of love.
1. Use body language. Start to mimic him
All dogs rely heavily on body language to understand us. Our facial expressions and even our posture are constantly conveying messages to our canine companions.
Not only are we giving messages to them, but they are giving messages to us. And one way to bond and “click” with your husky is to mimic him.
Now, of course, I don’t mean drinking water from a bowl on the floor, but watch his face closely, and engage with him… When he gives you an interesting gaze, gaze back, when he comes to you wagging his tail in a playful happy mood, match his energy, excitement, and talk to him in your best “good boy” voice.
When he comes to lay down next to you and makes contact, give him contact back by putting an arm around him. This all counts as mimicking.
Mimicking behavior is a powerful way to bond with your husky, just as it is with humans too.
2. Frequently talk to your husky
MRI scans show that dogs understand human speech much better than we ever thought. Researchers in Hungary trained 13 dogs to lie down voluntarily into an MRI scanner while they spoke to them.
The discovery was that dogs process language extremely similar to the way we do, with the right side dealing with emotion and the left side dealing with meaning.
Their findings also showed that dogs understand the tone of voice. Words like “good boy” said in a neutral tone did not get the same response as “good boy” spoken in a happy, praising tone.
So you know what this means… Speak to your husky more often in a happy, encouraging tone of voice. Raising your pitch higher will achieve this.
Don’t be afraid to have those one-way conversations with your husky, because he’s understanding more than you think, and it’s making him feel good!
3. Easy eye contact and gazing
Eye contact is a universal way to communicate and interact with all other animals. Whether we are looking at another person, dog, cat or even a lion eye contact is powerful.
Eye contact with a stranger or unfamiliar dog can be risky and studies show that if you engage in a stare-off for more than a couple of seconds it’s going to be seen as a threat or challenge.
Fortunately, you’re already familiar with your husky, and eye contact becomes something different. The kind of eye contact you’re able to engage in with your husky will say a lot about the relationship you have.
Dogs who are able to casually gaze at their owners, and maintain a gaze when you look back, means you have a good strong bond. Most dogs will briefly look away which indicates that they consider you to be their leader, but after that, they should be able to look back at you.
When your husky comes and gazes at you, give him those loving “easy-going” eyes back. You would be surprised how your stare changes depending on how you’re feeling. When you’re angry your stare will naturally convey that emotion just like when you’re happy and showing love your stare will naturally convey it too.
4. Facial expressions to show your love
Finally, It’s been confirmed by science that dogs recognize our emotions through body language AND facial expressions.
Not only that, but dogs can even differentiate those emotions depending on facial expressions. Smiling, frowning, grinning, it’s all understood by your husky.
Japanese researchers also revealed that dogs who have a strong bond will naturally look at their owners with raised eyebrows (usually the left one). Now it’s a bit difficult to start analyzing your husky’s eyebrows! And you don’t need to. You can use mimicking to help you out once again…
Frequently look at your husky with a big smile, open eyes, and raise those eyebrows to the roof! Your husky will recognize this face as happy, positive, and loving. Give him more of those faces and your bond will become stronger over time.
5. Plenty of physical contact
Does your husky sit by you, lay by you, or just try to make any kind of physical contact? This means he trusts you and loves you.
So you guessed it, do it back! Putting an arm around him, stroking him, and giving him his favorite belly rub are AWESOME ways to bond with your husky.
Nothing fancy here, just good old physical contact works very well. Try your best to stroke, rub his ears, and give him your touch more often. This will likely increase his desire to receive your touch, but that only means your bond with him is strengthening.
6. Rest together
Dogs are pack animals, and huskies, in particular, have strong pack instincts.
For thousands of years, huskies would have had a very synchronized routine with their pack mates and human family, meaning they wake up together, work together, eat together, and then rest together.
Resting is a simple yet powerful way to bond with your husky. So the next time you go out for your long run or daily hike, come home and take the opportunity to rest with your husky.
I don’t mean lay down in his bed… But just the simple act of resting on the sofa with him will strengthen your bond without you having to do anything (quite literally).
And after all, who doesn’t like resting and snuggling up close to their husky?
7. Train him and play with him
Huskies are a high-energy breed and need a lot of both physical and mental exercise in order to be happy.
Being his partner in tug of war, frisbee, or even just chasing the ball will not only help with his exercise requirements, but it will act as a bonding session. Taking the time to focus on your husky, show him your attention, and engage with him, is really valuable and isn’t gone unnoticed by him.
Running through training commands like sit, stay, wait, come here are all great ways to engage with your husky and keep him mentally stimulated. Even if he already mastered “sit” years ago, he will still enjoy a game of sit and wait and it will almost be like a game to him.
Not to mention how important it is for huskies to feel like they have a role in the pack. Training routines with rewards and praise is a great way to make your husky feel useful. And he’ll link those positive feelings to you.
Psst. A quick update on training your husky pup! Brain Training For Dogs might now be one of the best training regimes suitable for a husky. Owners are seeing improvement in obedience, behavior, and stubbornness quicker than ever before.
3 Things That Don’t Count As Showing Love!
There are a few ways that you may be thinking helps your bond, but is actually making it worse, or just doing nothing at all. Let’s take a look:
1. Hugging or cuddling
Yes, I did mention physical contact, but actively cuddling or hugging your husky may make them uncomfortable. The majority of huskies are not heavily into cuddling, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop a strong bond with them.
Cuddling is just something humans understand more than dogs. So try not to engage in too many cuddles especially if your husky doesn’t really want them.
2. Giving treats
Sure, your husky will LOVE treats, but your bond isn’t improved by you giving him treats.
Imagine standing there with a treat and then a stranger comes along with a tastier smellier treat. Your husky’s loyalty will instantly disappear as he moves over to the stranger. Treats and genuine love, are not correlated.
3. Kisses
If you’re currently into kissing and pecking your husky, you may want to stop. For dogs, a quick kiss or peck on the side of the face is more likely to be seen as an act of play or that you’re trying to nip him and show dominance over him. Kissing is not really understood as affection for dogs.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it! You now know how to tell your husky you love them and how to improve the bond you have with your husky.
If you have any other tips or suggestions be sure to contact us!
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Understanding Husky Body Language
Why Huskies Don’t Like to Cuddle
Does Your Husky Love You?
The Importance of Mental Stimulation
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